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Blackhawks are off to a great start and kicking arse on the road.......
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HA!!!
Didn't expect the WINGS to squeek that one out!Comment
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Was always a fan of Holmstrom, he took a beating every game and just went back for more. Wings needed a few more like him.The end of an ERA
Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom decides to hang 'em up
Scotty Bowman has coached a thousand players, but no one quite like Tomas Holmstrom. Here was a guy who came over from Sweden with none of the usual skills of a European forward, but something else: Determination so immense it was tangible.
Holmstrom’s willingness to go where no one else would go — the front of the net— earned him a distinguished career with the Red Wings, but one that he’s ready to call over. He informed the club this afternoon that he’s done playing. The announcement will be made formal later this week, a person familiar with the situation told the Free Press.
A news conference will be held the day before training camp opens or the day camp begins. The problem is that the new collective bargaining agreement has to be ratified before any such dates are announced, and that may not come until later this week. The other problem is finding a venue for the announcement: Joe Louis Arena, Holmstrom’s home for 15 seasons, has been rented out to Ford Motor Company until the middle of next week.
Holmstrom, who turns 40 on Jan. 23, hangs up his skates after 1,026 games, during which he scored 243 goals among 530 points. He won four Stanley Cups, the first as a reserve in ’97, and another in ’98 as a full-fledged member of the team. During the 2002 championship run, he was part of one of the best fourth lines ever, next to Igor Larionov and Luc Robitaille. The last Cup came in ’08.
Many of Holmstrom’s goals are legendary: Teammates often joked no one scored more often with his back to the net, and best friend and former teammate Nicklas Lidstrom used to delightfully chide Holmstrom about all the goals he had stolen from Lidstrom thanks to a slick tip of the stick.
Holmstrom, drafted in the last round in 1994, broke into the league during the ’96-97 season, prompting him to wear the No. 96. His first coach was Bowman, who recently reminisced about their beginnings. Known originally by the moniker he’d picked up in his native Sweden, “Demolition Man,” Holmstrom fought for every shift he got during his rookie season.
“He never played a lot of minutes like some guys; he scrapped for his ice time,” Bowman said. “That’s the thing I like the best about him; he never complained. He was a terrific player because he accepted his role. That’s why he’s going to go down as such a solid player. He’s had a great career.”
Bowman recalled how he encouraged Holmstrom, a thickly built 6-footer, to be a pest along the lines of Dino Ciccarelli, but without the proneness to penalties. Holmstrom responded by absorbing abuse from opposing defensemen — like Chris Pronger — and opposing goaltenders — like Ed Belfour — without retaliating.
“We were hopeful he could replace Dino — he sure enough did that,” Bowman said. “He scored the tough goals, learned how to play in the crease, and just outside the crease, and didn’t lose many goals that way.”
Unlike his friend Lidstrom, whom coach Mike Babcock has described perfectly as being “touched by the hand of God” in talent, Holmstrom showed what hard work could do for the more mortal of players. He didn’t care than he didn’t have any ligament in one of his knees, or that he had to wear more padding than any other skater. “There weren’t many guys tougher than him that I ever had that could play,” Bowman said. “If he missed a game, I knew he was really badly injured.”
Holmstrom worked his way up from reserve to valued role player and power-play specialist. On and off in his career, he’d see time on a top line, playing next to superstars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Why? Because Holmstrom was the guy who’d go into corners and get the puck to them, who’d go to the net and set screens or provide tips. He became so good at his job he was selected as part of Sweden’s 2010 Olympic hockey team, although he ended up not playing after suffering a knee injury.
Years of grueling work made last season hard on Holmstrom, and he has been widely expected to retire since last summer. His departure will leave a void his first NHL coach doesn’t easily see replaced.
“They’ll miss his spirit,” Bowman said.
Holmstrom became a beloved figure in the locker room over the years — his origins in northern Sweden inevitably brought on accusations that he was or worked for Santa Claus every Christmas. His heavily accented English was dubbed “Swenglish.” Asked what the locker room will be like without Holmstrom, Daniel Cleary said: “Quiet and boring.”
When he played in his 1,000th game last February, teammates bought him a snowmobile and gave it to him after a practice. He drove it around the ice at the Joe, grinning and laughing, as if it were his backyard. It was a reward, and a feeling, he’d richly earned.Comment
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I'm not sure what I hate more: the fact that the Sabres are Northeast bottom feeders despite a reasonably talented roster and one of the top scorers in the NHL -or- the fact that they're so cocky about everything and act as if they're 12-2 crowing about high TV ratings...Comment
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You know what I hate? 2 words: Scott Clemmensen. I swear he's the worst goalie I have ever seen. I wish he'd break a leg.Originally posted by wiseguyComment
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Took my kids to the Blackhawks afternoon game yesterday vs. the Kings and the Hawks managed to hang on and continue their point streak and "unbeaten in Regulation" stat. They were all over the Kings in the 1st period and looked flat for the next 2, but still won the game 3-2. Patrick Kane looked like he was hung over and played like crap. Hawks checking lines did most of the work for the win. Will see what happens against the Sedin Sisters tomorrow night.Comment
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In a somewhat shocking move, the Sabres fired their longest tenured NHL Coach, Lindy Ruff. He's been here for 15 years and is a pretty good coach that will catch on somewhere soon, but he's just been here too long and has lost the players...Comment
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I believe they passed on him when he coached the Sabres longtime AHL affiliate Rochester Ameriks. The acting, or tenative, coach is Ron Rolston who is essentially getting a long tryout. He's been coaching Rochester and a lot of people are impressed with his development of younger players in Rochester...Originally posted by fourthcoming
Not to be too Sabres centric, but Lindy was the second longest tenured coach in NHL history behind Al Arbour, and the longest acting tenured coach in North American pro-sports...
Lindy’s time was up – but what a time it was
BY: Bucky Gleason / Buffalo News Columnist | @TBNbucky
Lindy Ruff spent 26 years, nearly half of his life, working for the Sabres as a player and a coach. (Mark Mulville/Buffalo News file photo)
My first thought when hearing Lindy Ruff had been fired probably wasn’t what you expected. In fact, it wasn’t even what I expected.
Ruff’s dismissal was a long time coming, so it wasn’t a major shock when the Sabres announced they were replacing him Wednesday. He was in his 15th season, plus one during the lockout, a lifetime in professional sports. The Sabres had missed the playoffs three times in five years, six times in 14 years. The facts roll off your tongue.
Last year, I suggested that the Sabres find another head coach. It was obvious that they needed a new voice. Another terrible start this season provided more evidence that a change was in order. If it wasn’t clear already, and it was, there was no denying he needed to be replaced after the debacle against Winnipeg.
And yet when it actually happened, my first thought wasn’t about the Sabres finally making a bold move that they owed their fan base. I wasn’t thinking about who would replace him. Strangely enough, it was about how much I owed Lindy Ruff, knowing that I could never repay him.
You don’t spend 16 years around a man in a professional setting and not form personal opinions about him. Ruff unwittingly taught me more about the X’s and O’s in hockey than he ever imagined. He was patient and entertaining, a terrific coach and a better human being than most will ever realize.
Somehow, it became lost in the turmoil.
One thing that was never lost was his effect on my life. His relationship with me lasted 16 years, but my relationship with him goes back 33 years.
Ruff, you see, introduced me to sports writing during the 1979-80 season. I was 12 years old and watching a game from the standing-room only section, adjacent to the press box in Memorial Auditorium. Ruff, a healthy scratch, invited me up the catwalk for a quick glimpse. I remember, clear as day, on that day, making a career choice.
So it was strange, when he was hired in 1997, that I covered the news conference in which he was introduced. I told him the story about our encounter. He mentioned that he did the same for a few kids. Small world. And I told him, if I ever called for his firing, he would only have himself to blame.
And we laughed.
In fact, we had plenty of laughs. Ruff’s sharp sense of humor and quick wit had a way of putting people at ease. He’s a gifted storyteller and practical joker who enjoyed the daily give-and-take, especially when his team was playing well. If I had a nickel for every person who enjoyed his act, I would have retired long ago.
Still, there was always a line that separated us. We understood the inherent boundaries that came with our job titles. At times, it became blurred as we came to trust one another with information about our personal lives.
The line prevented us from becoming true friends, but we remained friendly the best we could while keeping a safe distance from one another. We had a few battles, of course. You don’t spend that much time around someone and not have differences, too.
Ruff spent 26 years, nearly half of his life, working for the Sabres as a player and a coach. He wanted to win a Cup for himself. Mostly, he wanted to win a championship, in Buffalo, for you. To me, that meant something.
We spoke numerous times about how much it meant to him. Imagine, he would say, what this city would be like if the Bills or Sabres ever won it all. If you closed your eyes and listened, he sounded like any other tortured Buffalo fan. Western New York is his home. His wife, Gaye, loves it here. His children grew up here.
For years, he was an ideal fit.
Over time, we came to understand what the other was thinking. I’ll say it again, he knew my questions before I finished asking them, and I knew his responses before he finished answering them. Looking back, I guess there was a point in which I stopped listening to him, too, the same way his players did.
Ruff’s critics had called for his firing years ago. I was a late arrival, but it had nothing to do with my childhood encounter with him or my respect for him. It had everything to do with my opinion of him as a coach. He was respected across the league for his work under trying circumstances in Buffalo.
Simply, I didn’t think he was the problem. What changed? Well, that was the problem. Not enough changed in recent years. The Sabres looked mostly the same with their lackluster efforts and poor results. It became obvious last season that a coaching change was necessary. The Sabres needed to try ... something.
Calling for his job was a joyless, uncomfortable experience. Nobody wants to see a good guy get fired, but there was no ignoring the fact that Ruff had plenty of chances.
He was out of time in Buffalo. It was clear to everybody but the people making the decisions. He was forced to endure the indignity that came with getting canned 17 games into the season.
The bigger shame in his firing was that General Manager Darcy Regier wasn’t sent packing before him. Ruff enabled Regier to keep his job for years, not the other way around, while getting average teams to overachieve. Ruff was particularly effective in the playoffs, but he needed the right personnel to get there.
It would have been interesting to see whether Ruff would have accomplished more without Regier, who should have been fired no later than 2004. There was a good chance any incoming general manager would have retained Ruff and made changes that would have given him a better chance to succeed and maybe win it all.
We’ll never know.
In the end, Ruff made the mistake of staying in one place too long. That’s all. If that’s his biggest blunder in life, he’ll die a happy man. There are no guarantees his dismissal will pump life into his sorry former hockey team. Another team will snap him up sooner than later, and he might win a Cup somewhere else.
In fact, it’s expected.
Hopefully, I’ll be there if it does.
email: bgleason@buffnews.comLast edited by Nickdfresh; 02-21-2013, 05:36 PM.Comment
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I'm gonna laugh my ballz off if the WINGS don't make the playoffs.....legs will be snapping like 2X4s in Motown from all the bandwagon jumpers abandoning ship!Comment
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ALWAYS love to see the RED WINGS beat up on the twins!!! :pComment
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LET'S GO RED WINGS!!!
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